Frequently asked questions

No. You can join as a complete beginner, and plenty do. As an RYA recognised training centre we’ll help you build your skills from there, and if you’d rather see what it’s like before deciding, come out for a day on the water first.

Yes, and most beginners do. We run Potential New Member Days: a full day sailing the Solent with a qualified skipper and a friendly crew, for the price of an ordinary day rate (£56 in summer, £41 in winter). There’s no membership to take out first and no obligation afterwards.

Take the helm, trim a sail, or sit back and watch the Solent go by. You don’t need experience, and you don’t need any kit: the boat carries lifejackets and harnesses for everyone aboard.

None to start. We run the full RYA pathway, from Competent Crew through Day Skipper and Coastal Skipper to Yachtmaster, taught by our own experienced skippers.

That’s a good part of why the club exists. If you hold an RYA Day Skipper certificate but no boat, you can join, sail as often as you like at £41–£56 a day, and build the sea time you need without owning or chartering anything.

Once you’ve got the miles, one practical Skipper Check signs you off to take a club yacht out yourself, with your own crew. See building your miles for the full route.

Once you’ve joined there’s a short two-day wait, then you can book a trip. Newcomers usually start with a Potential New Member Day; experienced sailors can be signed off after a quick in-house assessment and get straight out on the water.

Membership runs for 12 months from the month you join, then for 12 months after each annual renewal.

Usually not, and places come up throughout the year. If we are ever full, we will tell you when you apply rather than leave you waiting.

Membership is £165 a year. Family Member (+£100) and Junior Member (+£10) are add-ons to membership rather than alternatives to it. New members also pay a one-off joining fee of £100.

On top of that you pay a day rate each time you go out: £56 in summer, £41 in winter, covering the boat, fuel, gas and maintenance. There’s a full breakdown on the membership and fees page.

There is no monthly subscription. Apart from the annual membership you pay only for the days you actually sail, so a month when you don’t get out costs you nothing.

RYA courses are charged separately, at member rates. See training for what each one costs.

No. Your membership and the day rate cover the sailing; RYA courses are charged separately. What membership gives you is access to them: our courses are run in-house by our own instructors, on our own yachts, at member rates, so you never have to go to an outside school or find a boat to learn on.

The good news is that a course fee covers the boat for those days too, so you do not pay the daily sailing fee on top of it. See training for the full price list.

Family Member is an add-on to membership, not a membership on its own. For £100 a year it covers a member’s spouse or partner, or their children under 24.

Yes. Guests can usually sail with the club through temporary membership, which is £20 a day on top of the day rate. A few limitations apply: these are set out in the Sailing Orders.

The same day rate, charged for each day you’re away. An overnight cruise is simply twice the day-sail rate, and longer trips scale the same way, so a week cruising the West Country is seven days at the day rate. There’s no separate cruising charge and no surcharge for going further.

No. SOYC is a members’ club, not a charter company. The yachts are there for members to share.

Both yachts lie at Mercury Yacht Harbour on the River Hamble near Southampton. You book your trip through our online system, and the skipper briefs you at the pontoon before you leave, so you don’t need to find crew or a skipper yourself.

When you join you’re given a login for our online booking system, which shows what’s coming up and what still has space. Book the trips you want from there.

If your plans change, cancel in the system so your place goes back to the other members. There’s no cancellation charge if you cancel early enough; the notice periods are in the Sailing Orders.

We’re a club of over 300 members sharing two yachts, so the sunny summer weekends are the ones that go first. Most of the programme is club trips that you join as crew rather than taking the whole boat, so a busy weekend often still has places somewhere.

No, and it’s one of the things members value most. Our skippers are club volunteers: experienced members who hold the relevant RYA qualifications and have been checked out by our own instructors. You book onto a trip, turn up, and the skipper briefs everyone at the pontoon before you slip. You don’t need to know anyone, and you don’t need to bring anyone.

In time, yes. Experienced sailors with some SOYC sailing behind them can be signed off after a short in-house assessment. If you’re newer to it, you work up through the RYA pathway with us and take on more as you go. Skippering a club yacht yourself needs at least an RYA Day Skipper certificate and a sign-off from the club. The full requirements are in the Sailing Orders.

Like most clubs, we have a set of rules that keep things running smoothly, safely and fairly. Ours are called the Sailing Orders, and they cover everything from booking and cancelling to what each level of skipper may do. Every member gets a copy, and we are happy to send you one before you join if you would like to read it first.

Yes. We sail all year round, so there’s no off season, and membership gives you year-round access to both yachts. That’s why there’s a winter day rate as well as a summer one, and plenty of members prefer the quieter months on the water.

Having two yachts matters here: when one is lifted out for antifouling or a repair, the other keeps sailing, so a boat out of the water doesn’t put a stop to your season.

Sailing is an active sport and carries real risks, which are managed by training, equipment and experience. Both yachts are maintained to MCA coding standards, Concorde is formally coded, and both carry lifejackets and safety harnesses for everyone aboard. There’s an experienced skipper on every trip: club volunteers who hold the relevant RYA qualifications and have been checked out by our own instructors.

You don’t have to be able to swim. The boat carries lifejackets and safety harnesses for everyone aboard, and a lifejacket will hold you up if you go in. Do mention it to your skipper if you’re a weak swimmer, or if it worries you, so they can plan around it.

Most people are absolutely fine. If you’ve never been on a boat, though, it’s worth taking something as a precaution. Stugeron (cinnarizine) is widely regarded as the most effective over-the-counter option and most pharmacies stock it. Take it the night before, or at least a couple of hours before you sail.

Layers, mainly. It’s almost always cooler on the water than ashore, even on a sunny day, so bring one more warm layer than you think you’ll need, plus a windproof jacket and waterproofs if you have them. You don’t need to buy dedicated sailing kit; a decent waterproof coat and a warm fleece will do. In summer bring a hat and high-factor suncream, because the glare off the water burns quickly even under cloud.

Trainers or deck shoes with clean, non-marking soles. Wellingtons aren’t suitable, as they’re slippery on deck. A change of trousers, socks and shoes in a bag is worth having for the drive home.

The boat carries lifejackets and safety harnesses for everyone aboard, along with tea, coffee and milk. Bring a packed lunch, plenty of water and any snacks you’d like.

Both yachts are professionally maintained and carry full safety equipment, and the skipper is qualified to deal with problems as they come up. The club also carries breakdown cover for both boats.

Accidental damage is covered by the club’s insurance. Tell the skipper so it goes in the log, and the club takes care of the repair.

The members do. Speedbird Offshore Yacht Club Ltd has been fully independent since 2016, one hundred per cent owned and run by its membership. There’s no parent company and no commercial operator behind us, and every penny goes back into the club.

Yes, between us. The two yachts belong to the membership rather than to a charter firm. That’s why there’s no boat to buy, no berthing bill, no maintenance and no depreciation falling on you personally, and why your day rate covers the cost of running the boat rather than somebody’s profit margin.